BMW laid down an early marker at the Circuit of the Americas, heading the second practice session for this weekend’s Lone Star Le Mans.
The opening pair of sessions provided an intriguing glimpse of form and underlined the intensity with which the leading squads have approached the Texas six-hour.
Hypercar: BMW lead Ferrari in early exchanges
The opening session was headlined by a surprise pace-setter: Will Stevens. In the Cadillac (#12) he clocked a 1:53.584 to put the American marque on top of the timesheets. Aston Martin’s #007 Valkyrie and the reigning COTA winners in AF Corse’s #83 Ferrari completed the top three in the searing afternoon temperatures.
There was late-session drama, though. The Cadillac that had set the pace ran wide into the gravel at Turn 7. Moments later Sheldon van der Linde’s #20 BMW brought out another red flag – an early illustration of the knife-edge on which teams are working as they refine setups and suspension balance.
In FP2 it was BMW who turned the tables at the Lone Star Le Mans. Van der Linde responded with a commanding 1:51.946. Its was the fastest lap of the day and over three tenths clear of Antonio Giovinazzi’s #51 AF Corse Ferrari. Aston Martin’s #009 entry maintained strong form and pressured Ferrari for second while Porsche Penske Motorsport rebounded to show a marked improvement.
Elsewhere, the #83 AF Corse Ferrari — victorious here twelve months ago — remained consistently in the mix, joined by its stablemates and the second Aston. Toyota’s #7 and the #12 Cadillac also nestled firmly inside the top ten.
The COTA surface proved as punishing as ever. Technical gremlins surfaced for BMW’s #15 (MGU trouble). Several off-track moments prompted lengthy stoppages, and a raft of deleted times for track limits further emphasised the test-like character of these early sessions.
LMGT3: McLaren and Corvette exchange blows
LMGT3 offered no shortage of competition either. TF Sport’s Corvette topped the first practice outright, with Daniel Juncadella and Charlie Eastwood separated by a slender 0.057s on their best laps.
But in FP2 it was United Autosports who answered the call. Sean Gelael steered the #95 McLaren to the quickest time of the class with a 2:06.545. The Iron Dames Porsche and Proton Ford Mustangs also broke into the top five adding further variety to the class. Manthey’s 1stPhorm Porsche endured a rare off day and languished down in 14th. A result unlikely to reflect the car’s true race pace come Sunday.
Racing Spirit of Le Mans’ #10 Aston Martin crashed hard, causing a lengthy stoppage in the opening session. Happily the driver Deboer emerged safely — a stark reminder that the LMGT3 field is pushing as hard as the top class.
What to expect this weekend?
As always, testing times must be treated with caution, yet themes have already emerged. BMW, Ferrari and Aston Martin look evenly matched at the head of Hypercar. Cadillac and Toyota retain the tools to feature prominently if they can iron out errors. In LMGT3, Corvette and McLaren appear the pace-setters, with Porsche, Lexus, and Ford all breathing down their necks.
Balance of Performance adjustments will be key in sharpening or blunting these early hints. AF Corse in particular carry the expectation of repeating last season’s Lone Star Le Mans win, yet BMW’s raw speed in FP2 will not go unnoticed.
With the grid condensed across the board, the stage is set for an intense six-hour battle on Sunday. The battle lines are drawn. It may be the battle between the BoP and the race rhythm that determines who emerges victorious from Austin. The full timesheets of both sessions can be found here and here.
Images © Alessandro Sala